View full sizeAlabama running back Eddie Lacy gets loose against Notre Dame during the BCS national championship game on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

SEC Football by the Numbers looks at the preferences of NFL teams where the conference is concerned in the third of a four-part examination of the 2013 draft. Monday's installment covered the first round. Tuesday's entry broke down the draft by positions. And on Thursday, SEC FBN will warm up for the start of the selections with some stats and streaks involving the conference and the draft.

Bengals big on SEC

The Bengals can't get enough of the SEC lately. Cincinnati has selected at least one SEC player in each of the previous 15 drafts. That's the longest streak for any NFL team heading into this week's draft.

The Bengals took Alabama CB Dre Kirkpatrick with a first-round selection last year, making him the sixth SEC player that they'd taken in the first round during their streak. That could happen again this year: The Bengals own the 21st pick and could use a running back, making Alabama's Eddie Lacy a tempting selection.

In addition to Kirkpatrick, the Bengals' first-round picks from the SEC during their streak have been Georgia WR A.J. Green in 2011, Alabama OT Andre Smith in 2009, South Carolina DB Johnathan Joseph in 2006, Georgia DE David Pollack in 2005 and Auburn LB Takeo Spikes in 1998.

Right behind the Bengals in streaking to draft SEC players are the Falcons, who have picked at least one player from the conference in each of the previous 12 drafts, and the Colts, who have picked at least one player from the conference in each of the previous 11 drafts. Last year, the Colts drafted four SEC players.

Jaguars not on SEC bandwagon

The Jaguars share a stadium with one of the SEC's great rivalry games - Georgia vs. Florida -- in Jacksonville. However, the Jaguars haven't been as closely aligned with the SEC in the draft.

The NFL team with the longest current streak of drafts without a selection from the SEC is Jacksonville. The Jaguars haven't selected an SEC player in the past four drafts.

The Jaguars have made 29 consecutive draft picks without selecting an SEC player. They haven't drafted an SEC player since picking Auburn DE Quentin Groves in 2008's second round.

Saints ain't drafting from Auburn

The New Orleans Saints are based in SEC territory, but they haven't been ardent consumers of the SEC's talent. The Saints have drafted 62 SEC players -- 18th among NFL teams -- and only three of them have come from Auburn.

The Saints' most recent pick from Auburn came in 1981, when they took DE Frank Warren in the third round. That's the longest current drought for the Tigers involving one NFL team. The Saints' other Auburn picks were C Lee Gross in 1975 and RB James Owens in 1973.

While the Saints have gone 31 drafts without selecting a Tiger, there are longer gaps than New Orleans' Auburn aversion between an NFL team and an SEC member in the draft. The Lions haven't drafted a Vanderbilt player since 1959. The back markers of the SEC's draft history - Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Mississippi State - are involved in several such gaps. More unusual, though, are these disparities: The Jets haven't drafted an LSU player since 1977, the Chargers haven't drafted a Georgia player since 1977 and the Bills haven't drafted a Florida player since 1978.

For Alabama, the longest current draft drought involves the Packers. Even though the Packers have drafted 20 Alabama players, they haven't picked one since 1995, when the Green Bay chose QB Jay Barker in the fifth round.

The Falcons have spread their selections widest through the SEC in recent years. Over the previous 15 drafts, Atlanta has picked at least one player from each of the 12 SEC members. Maybe the Falcons can add SEC newcomers Missouri and Texas A&M to their lineup this week.

Giants' Ole Miss pipeline dries up

Eli Manning, the Giants' quarterback, starred at Ole Miss, but he wasn't drafted by New York. The Giants traded for Manning after he made it clear he didn't want to play for the Chargers, who took him with the first pick in 2004. And there's nothing unusual about the Rebels being represented on the G-Men: The Giants have drafted 29 Ole Miss players -- the most by one NFL team from one SEC school.

What's odd about it, though, is the Giants haven't drafted an Ole Miss player since selecting DE Rodney Lowe in the 10th round in 1989. Odder still: Lowe is the only Ole Miss player that the Giants have selected in the past 47 drafts. From 1936 through 1965, the Giants drafted 28 Ole Miss players, but from 1966 through 2012, they drafted one.

Here's a list of which NFL team has drafted the most players from each SEC member:

Alabama: Cardinals 21

Arkansas: Packers 4

Auburn: Cardinals 22

Florida: Steelers 24

Georgia: Eagles 21

Kentucky: Bears, Colts 13

LSU: Cardinals 20

Mississippi State: Eagles 13

Ole Miss: Giants 29

South Carolina: Vikings 5

Tennessee: Lions 21

Vanderbilt: Bears, Redskins 10

Former SEC members Georgia Tech had 14 players drafted by the Redskins, and Tulane had nine players drafted by the Redskins.

The Eagles have drafted more SEC players than any other NFL team with 167. The Cardinals (in Chicago, St. Louis and Arizona) have drafted 162.

Zac Stacy and the Vanderbilt void

Since the NFL and AFL held their first combined draft in 1967 as a stepping stone to their merger, 26 franchises have participated in every annual player selection. Since that draft, each of those 26 franchises has picked at least one player from every one of the 10 schools that have been members of the SEC since that 1967 draft, with four exceptions.

All involve Vanderbilt, somewhat understandable given the Commodores' football fortunes over those 46 years. The Lions, Dolphins, Jets and Chargers have not drafted a Vanderbilt player in that time. Since the Lions' NFL history starts far before the 1967 draft, Detroit has six Vanderbilt players on its all-time draft roster, but the Lions haven't drafted a Commodore since 1959.

Vanderbilt has one player considered a lock to be drafted this year: RB Zac Stacy. Of the Vanderbilt avoiders, the Jets are the only one that has a notable need at running back.

One and only

When the Broncos took Kentucky LB Danny Trevathan in the seventh round of last year's draft, he became only the second Wildcat that Denver had chosen since joining the NFL. The first was DB Larry Carter, whom the Broncos picked in the third round in 1980.

That left eight SEC players as the only draftees from their schools for teams that have drafted annually since the AFL/NFL merger (among the 10 schools that have been SEC members throughout the history of the NFL draft). Those lonely representatives are:

RB Larry Seiple, the only Kentucky player selected by the Dolphins (seventh round in 1967).

WR Sammy Milner, the only Mississippi State player selected by the Chargers (13th round in 1971).

C Dave Leffers, the only Vanderbilt player selected by the Raiders (15th round in 1973).

DT Dan Alexander, the only LSU player selected by the Jets (eighth round in 1977).

WR Mardye McDole, the only Mississippi State player selected by the Vikings (second round in 1981).

DB Corey Harris, the only Vanderbilt player selected by the Titans/Oilers (third round in 1992).

WR Olanda Truitt, the only Mississippi State player selected by the Raiders (fifth round in 1993).

QB Jay Cutler, the only Vanderbilt player selected by the Broncos (first round in 2006).

The fine print

This look at the SEC's draft numbers includes only players picked in the regular NFL draft -- no special supplemental, underclassman, non-NFL or separate dispersal drafts are included in the tabulations.

For Arkansas and South Carolina, which joined the league in 1992, the numbers include only players drafted since 1993. For former member Georgia Tech, players drafted from 1936 to 1964 are included. For former member Tulane, it's through the 1966 draft.

Missouri and Texas A&M aren't included in the conference totals from the past, although they are included in projections for this year after playing their first SEC seasons in 2012.

Former SEC member Sewanee has had only one player drafted -- RB William Johnson by the Falcons in 1966, long after the school left the conference following the 1940 season.